Stories change lives

“You are a failure, Harvey, you and the whole science of penology…because you rob prisoners of the most important thing in their lives: their individuality.”

That’s Burt Lancaster in his role as Bob Stroud in the 1962 film, Birdman of Alcatraz.

The real Bob Stroud was still alive when the film was released. He died the very next year, his 54th behind bars.

The movie is almost 60 years old. But the dialog could have been written last week. I wish that were a complement for the timelessness of great writing.

It isn’t.

It is an indictment of our penal system, which robs those behind bars of their humanity, their dignity, their individuality.

They deserve it, you say. They did bad things.

Here’s what I would say: Yes, people who do bad things should be punished for their actions. But 95 percent of those we incarcerate get out one day, out into our communities. If prison treats them as sub-human, if prison robs them of dignity, if prison makes them feel less than whole every single day for years, for decades…tell me, what kind of people will they be when they get out?

That’s a rhetorical question. But let me answer it anyway: Angry, distrustful, self-doubting, lacking in empathy, unable/ unwilling to engage in, nurture and sustain authentic relationships. And that’s on a good day. Is it any wonder that within five years of release, more than three-quarters of released prisoners are rearrested.

Bob Stroud, the Birdman (He kept the birds in Leavenworth, not Alcatraz, by the way) transformed himself from killer to not just an international expert on the diseases of canaries but also the kind of man who held wounded birds in the palm of his hand, who fed them with eye droppers…who cared, who found a purpose, who lived a life of meaning. This despite not because of incarceration.

The fact that Hollywood made a movie of his life shows how extraordinary this rehabilitation was. But rehabilitation should be ordinary. It should be the main purpose of prison.

The writing group I started for Lifers at Oregon State Penitentiary is all about encouraging and nurturing individuality through the telling of stories. Telling your story is owning your story. Owning your story is recognizing that you are its author, which means you are also able to craft a new narrative. Stories spark change. Stories change lives.

You can read about those lives in my new book, A Grip of Time.